Self-study
Support Every time people get what they want they feel pleasure. ████████ ██ █ ███████ ██████ ██ ███████ ████ ███ ██████ ██ ███ ████████ ████ ██ ███ █████████████ ███████ ████████ ██████ █████████
Method of Reasoning
The argument concludes that no one fundamentally wants anything but pleasure. The author supports this statement by explaining that any time people get what they want, they feel pleasure.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The author has not supported their conclusion that no one wants anything but pleasure. In the premises, the author defines pleasure as a byproduct of obtaining the things you want. So we know what happens as a result of getting what you want, but not why you would want those things. Perhaps people have alternate motivations for wanting those things, and feeling pleasure is simply a byproduct or a fortuitous addition to getting those things they wanted. Had the author shown that everyone’s motivations for desiring the things they want actually do stem from a desire for pleasure, his argument would have been supported.
14.
Which one of the following ████ ████████████ █████████ ████ ███████ ██ ████ ████ ██ ███ ████████ ██████
a
I sure am ████████ ███ █████ ████ ██████ █ ███ ████ █ █████ ████ ██ █ █████ █ ██████ ██ ████ █████ ████
Wrong flaw. This argument makes an assumption about the author’s earlier desires based on their present state, whereas the stimulus confuses a byproduct of getting things you want with the motivation for wanting those things.
b
I have never ████ ███████ ███ ████ ████████ █████ ██ █████████ ███ ██ █ █████ █ ████ ███ ████ ██ █████ ████
Wrong flaw. This argument confuses fear with a lack of desire to learn—even if something scares you, your desire to try it out could outweigh the fear. The stimulus mistakes pleasure, or a byproduct of obtaining something you want, for the reason that you want those things.
c
Every time I ███ █████ █ ███ █ ████████████ ██ █ ███████ ███ ██████ █ ███ █████ ██ ███ █████ █████ ██ ██ ████ █ ███ ████ █ ████████████
This author concludes they eat pizza because they want a stomachache, and supports this by saying that any time he eats pizza, he gets a stomachache. This is unsupported in the same way as the stimulus—a stomachache is a byproduct of eating pizza, and the author assumes a byproduct of something must be the motivation for wanting that thing.
d
Every time I ████ ████ ██ █ █████ ████ █████ █ ████ ███████ ███████ ██ █ ██████ █ ████ █████ ██████ ██ █████ ███ █ ██ ██ █ █████ ████████
No flaw. If every time you have partied with Julio, you have enjoyed yourself, then it is reasonable to expect the same from the next party with Julio. The stimulus, however, deals with motivations for wanting things vs. the consequences of obtaining those things.
e
I never enjoy █ ██████ ████ ███████ ██████ ███ █████ ██ █ █████ █ █████ ███ █████ █████ ██ █ ██████████ ████ ██ █ █████ ███ ███ ███ ████ ██ ███ █████
Wrong flaw. This author is speculating about their enjoyment of a basketball game with no evidence about what enables them to enjoy that type of game, whereas the author of the stimulus assumes that that one’s motivations for wanting something are always the same as the consequences of getting that thing.